A comment that I hear from time to time is ‘You’re nice and quiet in here so you can relax’. It’s a lovely thought and I would love nothing more than to sit at the desk and stare at the side of the church opposite all day (or I could watch some paint dry very easily as I have the resources at my fingertips). The truth is that we’re always busy here at Crafty Monkey.

This time of year, believe it or not, is officially Christmas! Towards the end of September, we have many mums booked in to get their babies’ hand and footprints onto baubles (we love their organisation!) and mums’ group bookings become especially popular. By the end of October, we book our customers in back to back so that we can keep up with demand. We can eat lunch and have a wee in January- until then, we become super-human!

So, what goes on behind the scenes? Lots.

The most obvious thing is the production line. More than half of our customers will ask us to decorate their pieces for them. This means that every day, I have piles of stuff that need some love. Last year, I painted close to a million (give or take) antlers and red noses on footprint reindeers and I have written ‘Happy Christmas’ more times than Santa’s Elves have.

Our kiln is on most days during this period. Loading and unloading is something of a mammoth task and can take a couple of hours each way. It’s a top loading machine, meaning that we use heavy shelves and posts and it’s a bit of a balancing act…not for the faint hearted to say the least!

We then need to gather people’s orders together and organise them for collection. This is more difficult than it sounds as we have so much stuff constantly rolling in and it can get very hectic. We also struggle for space during Christmas as we are heaving with pottery and can’t fit it all into our usually ample window display space.

Other than that, we are packaging things up to post, dealing with the creation of imprints/outprints, painting commission pieces, receiving mail to be dealt with, ordering stock and battling with huge pallets when it gets delivered, keeping the shelves plentiful, answering the phone as it rings off the hook and attempting some form of tidiness in the studio. And the most time consuming and arduous task of all? Filling the little paint bottles up on the tables. If somebody could invent self-replenishing paint bottles, I’d be all over it!

That’s a brief synopsis of what goes on behind the scenes…there’s actually a lot more happening but I’d be here all day if I listed it all!

So that’s us until December 22nd. The rest of the year is similar but we’re slightly more time rich and we get to eat lunch. If you’d like to pop in and bring us a mince pie, we’d be most grateful. And if you wouldn’t mind liquidising it and feeding it to us intravenously, that’d be great…

Either by phone or in person, we’re used to being asked a range of questions by customers or passers by. Some aren’t sure that they’ve got what it takes to come in and create and others don’t know what we do in here at all!

Below are a range of questions and answers to help you figure out what it’s all about!

Yes of course! We will guide you through and be on hand to assist you. You don’t need artistic talent as we have plenty of pieces (such as ornaments) that simply need the colour adding to them and it’s really easy!

My child is only a year old, is she too young to paint?

As long as your child can sit up and hold a brush- she can paint! It doesn’t matter what the end result is- it’s their very own artwork and you can cherish it forever! If your child is a small baby, come in and make something with their hand and footprints on! We also do other keepsakes to capture your child’s prints, such as Silverprint jewellery and imprints and outprints.

What other activities are available at Crafty Monkey?

There’s plenty of fun to be had here! You can build your own bear, have fun with Foam Clay or create with decoupage. We also run workshops from time to time (keep an eye on our facebook page for details). Adults evenings are on Thursday, by appointment.

Do you have a price list?

We don’t. This is because we have hundreds of different pieces of pottery and they are all priced individually. We often have new ranges of stock too. Everything has its own price and our studio fee is just £4, so it’s easy to come and browse and work out how much you’ll be spending. As a guide price, our average sized mugs start from £11.

Do I need to book an appointment to come in?

We always prefer it if you book. From October to December, booking is essential as it’s incredibly busy. The same goes for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day and school holidays. If you’re coming as a group, always ring and check that we have space for you.

How long will it take for my pottery to be ready for collection?

Your pottery will be ready a week after the day you finish it. If you’re in a rush to get it back, we may be able to get it ready within three days for an extra fee of £3.

Can I do something to take away the same day?

Yes, you can do foam clay, build a bear or decoupage and take your creations home the same day! It’s also possible to paint ornaments in acrylic paint (not recommended for young children).

I need a special gift for somebody- can I get a commission piece made?

Yes, give us a call or come and see us and show us your ideas so that we can give you a quote. Alternatively, you can order a gift from our website where you’ll find a range of designs to choose from.

Christmas is upon us once again and our studio is swaying under the bulk of baubles once again. Each year, we think we’ve ordered enough baubles in to see us through the festive period but each year sees an increase in their popularity and we end up placing emergency orders for supplies! Last year this happened twice- the first time being at the start of October as we’d exhausted our stock of a couple of hundred!

As ever, our specialty hand print robins and trees and footprint Rudolphs remained the most popular design for our baubles and the demand rose for our famous ‘mistletoes’ plates and we produced several every day.

Amid the bauble and plate chaos- many other festive pieces found their way into our kiln, including standing snowmen, dancing reindeer and funky tree ornaments.

If you’re thinking of coming along and creating Christmas bits, get in as soon as possible! Call us on 01480219222!

It’s a well-known thing that women are the more organised of the sexes, right? I’m sure we’ve all heard the joke about the nativity…

What would have happened if it had been three wise women instead of three wise men who visited Jesus?

They would have asked directions, arrived on time, helped deliver the baby, cleaned the stable, made a casserole and brought practical gifts.

Perhaps that’s why, at Crafty Monkey we are inundated with bookings from groups of mums who are getting their Christmas gifts organised en masse.

These wise ladies know that if they book in with us as a group of six or more, they not only save on the studio fee, but they get to get a catch up with the other mums and sort all their Christmas gifts out in one fell swoop!

And we love having groups of mums and babies in as the studio fills up with laughter and love and makes us feel ultra-Christmassy!!!

If you want to get those little hand and footprints turned into robins and reindeers

for the grandparents’ Christmas plates- or make a mark on some extra special baubles to treasure forever- round up your ladies and call us to get booked in!

Everyone who’s ever had a brother, dad, grandad, boyfriend or husband will know the difficulties we face when trying to find a perfect gift for a man. Unlike ladies, who are generally happy with all sorts of items that look or smell nice; our male counterparts tend not to appreciate the same vast array of pretty bits and pieces. So how do you go about attempting to conjure up an idea which reaches beyond something more original than socks for the tenth year running?

Fear not as this is where Crafty Monkey dons its superhero mask and cape and swoops in to save the day! Not only do we have the good grace to stock some ‘manly’ bits of pottery such as beer tankards, king sized mugs and footballs cups- we have a whole bunch of plain pottery which is crying out to be personalised especially for daddy!

Over the last few years, we’ve helped all manner of little ones and mums create a gift for daddy. You’d be surprised what you can do with a hand and footprint! If dad has a favourite hobby/sport/food- we can pretty much incorporate your little one’s print into some relevant work of art on a plate, plaque or whatever takes your fancy. You may have already seen our ‘Daddy’s Little Cookie Monster’ plate which proved very popular last Father’s Day!

Pop in or give us a ring for a chat and we’ll help you create the perfect gift for a daddy that deserves it!

Spring is in the air (kind of !) and it’s this time of year when we look forward to seeing baby lambs and chicks are popping up left right and centre! At Crafty Monkey, we’re more than familiar with the wonder of new life as we have so many brand new little babies coming to see us.

One of the most popular keepsake choices for new parents (and gifts for their family and friends) are imprints and outprints. If you’re not familiar with these, then come by and take a look at our examples as we’ll sure you’ll be impressed. They can be presented framed and ready to hang or unframed to pop on a stand on your mantelpiece for all to admire!

Give us a call on 01480219222 to find out how you can bring your new little life’s hands and feet to life!